Govenment sells remaining Royal Mail stake

The Government has sold its remaining stake in Royal Mail, business secretary Sajid Javid confirmed on Tuesday.

The sale was announced late Monday afternoon, with the Government beginning an accelerated book build.

Nearly all of its 14% stake was sold to institutional investors for 455p per share, bringing in £591.1m. It takes the total proceeds raised from sales of all the government’s shares to £3.3bn.

Proceeds of the sale will go towards paying off the national debt.

The final 1% of shares will be gifted to Royal Mail’s eligible UK employees, taking the total stake owned by its staff to 12%.

Javid said it was a historic day for Royal Mail.

“We have delivered on our promise to sell the Government’s entire remaining stake which means that for the very first time the company is now wholly owned by its employees and private investors.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said it secured the company’s long term future.

“By fully leaving state ownership we have a win all round - for customers, the workforce and the taxpayer.”

Shares in Royal Mail were down 4.6% to 450.4p by 0824 on Tuesday.